This week's Lowdown: What's new in iOS 12.3?

What’s new in iOS 12.3?

This week, Apple released its latest iOS 12.3 Beta update for iPhone (Beta 4). At the moment it’s only available to registered developers and it’s likely that there will be a couple more beta releases over the next couple of weeks, with a final release to general users somewhere around the end of May. So, let’s take a look at what we’re likely to see in the final iOS 12.3 update.

So far it doesn’t look like anything huge, with the Beta 4 release coming in at around 164MB on iPhone X. And, from what we’ve seen, there are no visible changes to the look of the operating system with most of the updates being tweaks to performance and enhancements. Here’s what we’ve found so far:

Faster menu navigation for older iPhones.

Updated modem firmware for better connectivity.

Minor tweaks to battery efficiency.

With iOS 13 just around the corner, ahead of the next iPhone release, it seems that Apple is holding back on some of the bigger updates.

EE is bringing 5G to Glastonbury

Phones and festivals have never really been a match made in heaven. And, because festivals tend to be in the middle of nowhere, you can often find yourself wandering around muddy fields trying to get a signal so you can ring your mates to find out which tent they went to.

The good news is, that’s all about to change thanks to EE. Glastonbury is already the world’s most connected festival after EE put up a number of 4G masts in 2017. Now, they’re taking connectivity even further.

EE will be adding five temporary masts to the site ready for the festival in June, and while there might not be too many people who have 5G enabled phones yet it’s worth keeping an eye out for EE’s stand where they’ll be showcasing what 5G can do.

So, if you’ve got a few minutes between bands, it’s worth checking out.

Oppo becomes the first Asian sponsor of Wimbledon Tennis Championship

Wimbledon is one of the longest standing championships in the world with the first tournament dating back to 1877, and in 125 years, Wimbledon has surprisingly, never had an Asian sponsor. Until now.

The name Oppo might not mean much to us in the West, but it’s actually the 8thlargest mobile phone brand in the world, thanks to huge success in China. We’ve recently seen (and attended) some pretty glamorous phone launches from Oppo, and they’re clearly trying to break into Western markets. It’s certainly a company that isn’t afraid to try new things, like the funky pop-up selfie cam on the OPPO Find X.

When asked about the 5-year deal, Brian Shen, OPPO’s Vice President said: “The Championships have a strong synergy with our brand values of prioritising innovation and design in our products. We are confident this partnership will further strengthen our expansion plans across the European marketplace and in turn our communication globally.”

One thing’s for sure, this deal is likely to do wonders for OPPOs market share in the UK.

Windows 10 update lets you see your phone notifications on your PC

This is a feature that’s been available on a handful of Samsung phones for a while, but Microsoft has now rolled it out for any phone running Android 7 or higher.

If you’re one of those people who’s easily distracted by a text, then spends the next 10 minutes scrolling through your Twitter feed, this'll be very handy. If your notifications come straight through to your PC while you’re working, you won’t even need to touch your phone.

All you need to do to get your phone notifications on your PC is:

Type ‘Your Phone’ in the Windows search bar, then click the app when it appears.

Sign in using your Microsoft account, or set up a new one.

When you see ‘Link your phone and PC’, click Link Phone.

Enter your mobile number and click Send.

Tap the link in the message on your phone.

Tap to Install the app, then open it.

Tap Sign into Microsoft and enter the same details you entered in your PC.

You’ll need to Allow a few permissions, then you’re done.

Have you seen anything in the world of mobile tech that’s caught your eye? Let us know in the comments below.